If someone would have asked me when I applied to be a Content Creator for Odyssey back in April of 2016 what I thought I would gain from it, I would have shrugged my shoulders. To be honest, I didn’t really expect to gain much from Odyssey. All I really knew was that Odyssey always had cute articles that my friends shared on Facebook from time to time. As a new applicant, I was excited about having my work published and the people that I know reading it, but I never thought that Odyssey would open as many doors for me as it has.
When I submitted my application for Odyssey, my sample piece of writing that ended up being my first article was a listicle similar to other articles that I had read on Odyssey in the past. It was “11 Lessons That I Learned As A College Freshman,” and, looking back at it, I smile. I remember how proud I was of that article. As soon as it was published, I texted all of my friends and family asking them to check it out! After being part of Odyssey for the next few weeks, I realized that Odyssey wasn’t just a series of cute listicles and open letters to people or groups from different writers. As I continued to browse Odyssey, I found articles about current events, life, love, travel, television, books, feelings, disorders, lifestyles, health and a wide variety of other topics. It was a platform for millennials to share their voices. After seeing all of the different things that I could write about, I decided to change up my writing. While I enjoyed writing the articles that I was so used to reading from Odyssey, I wanted to branch out and push myself to write something different.
Some of my next few articles were busts while others were successful, and that’s OK. While success is nice as a Creator, and I love hearing and reading that people enjoy my work, that’s not what it’s all about. It sounds selfish, but I write for Odyssey not only to entertain and inform people, but to better myself. After joining the Odyssey team, I can tell a huge difference in myself as a person - my writing has improved, there has been a major boost in my confidence, I’m more creative and I’m more outspoken. I’m no longer that girl that enjoyed writing, but was nervous about people criticizing her work. Now, I’m eager to share my thoughts, opinions and beliefs with other people all thanks to Odyssey and the people that take the time to read my work every week.
As a writer, you can’t expect to please nor interest everyone with your articles. No matter how much work you put into them each week, some people will just scroll on past them in their newsfeed without a second thought. It seems discouraging, but it’s really not. I felt that way about my work before, but realized that if I keep trying and reaching out to people with my writing, people will notice. You can’t let a low social media activity count on your article get you down. Somebody somewhere is going to read your article at some point. As a writer, you’re making your voice heard and putting yourself out there. Not everyone has the guts to do that.
Odyssey gives a voice to an insightful generation. Millennials are known for having new ideas. We’re not like the generations of the past. We’re our own special group and Odyssey gives us a way to make our voices heard. It gives us a platform to voice our beliefs, ideas and values. If you stick with it, you’ll see the difference that Odyssey can make in your life. I encourage every college student to try writing for Odyssey. It has made a difference in my life, and I have learned so many valuable lessons from it so far. Every article is a new learning opportunity and chance for you to improve yourself as well as branch out in your work. Not only that, but you also get to grow with your Odyssey team. We have the chance to bounce ideas for articles off of each other, support each other, and build each other up. As Content Creators, Photographers, Videographers, Contributing Editors and Editors-In-Chiefs, we are all connected and given the opportunity to be part of something greater – Odyssey! That "something greater" is what I have gained and why I love Odyssey!
